Could you describe the background to the Multidisciplinary Applied Geochemistry Network (MAGNET) and its chief aims and vision?

MAGNET is an industrial stream Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) initiative funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), University of British Columbia and some key industry collaborators. These innovative CREATE programmes are designed to provide stimulating training opportunites, address significant scientific challenges associated with Canada’s research priorities and facilitate new researchers’ transition from trainees to productive employees in the Canadian workforce.

Why is the MAGNET initiative particularly important at this time? Is there a lack of skill or interest in the field?

Geochemical techniques, data analysis principles and analytical tools are evolving rapidly and are increasingly used in a wide range of applications, including resource exploration, mineral extraction, environmental monitoring and remediation, as well as fundamental scientific research. Demand in industry, government and academic settings for highly qualified personnel with strong backgrounds in geochemistry is at an all-time high. The comprehensive and integrated nature of this training programme represents a novel and much needed approach to geochemistry education in Canada.

What makes MAGNET unique from other geochemistry training programmes?

Despite the increasing demand for qualified personnel with strong backgrounds in geochemistry, few students in Canada currently receive broad training or exposure to advanced geochemical approaches and practices. MAGNET fills this gap and is unique in this regard. The emphasis on hands-on learning, coupled with the provision of both technical and professional skills, is a distinctive feature of the training. The partnership with industry via the internship programme is also quite rare in an academic setting and is a fundamental additional benefit. Lastly, the collaborative nature of this national Network across Canada is particularly special and is one of the most rewarding aspects.

MAGNET provides trainees with professional development. What are some of the skills

participants are expected to gain as a result of the programme?

One of MAGNET’s main mandates is to provide trainees with professional skills that complement their technical abilities. We regularly bring in expert instructors, government representatives and industry consultants to provide seminars and workshops targeted at developing skills in four core areas: communication, management, teaching and knowledge transfer, and ethics.

So far, trainees have learned about scientific writing, project and time management, geochemical databases, and graphic design. Trainees have also participated in a suite of teaching workshops on instructional methods, learning objectives, lesson plans and classroom activities. Recently, we organised a panel presentation and discussion on Canadian environmental regulations, policy and ethics with respect to natural resource management. Trainees also gain important communication and presentation skills via our online course and weekly seminar series. Such knowledge and skills are readily transferrable to the workplace and provide our trainees with a competitive advantage.

Are you partnering with any other universities or groups in order to facilitate this programme? What are the benefits of such partnerships?

MAGNET is a network of six universities from across Canada (representing both English and French, Western and Eastern Canada): the University of British Columbia, University of Toronto,

Program Director Professor Dominique Weis and Program Coordinator Diane Hanano offer an introduction to an educational initiative connecting students with leading geochemists and state-of-the-art analytical laboratories across Canada

An attractive education

CAMPSITE CREATIVITY, CALIFORNIA WORKSHOP © GREGOR LUCIC

MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN SUMMIT © JAMES SCOATES

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Digging up talentWith a vision of providing a cohesive learning environment, combining industry internships, professional skills training and networking opportunities, the Multidisciplinary Applied Geochemistry Network takes a novel approach to geochemistry education in Canada

University of Ottawa, McGill University, Université du Québec à Montréal and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi.

The initiative brings together a unique group of leading researchers, plus many additional academic collaborators, who are active in a large array of research disciplines ranging from oceanography to groundwater hydrology and crust to mantle geochemistry. Trainees are co-supervised by at least two members of the network, which benefits both their personal and professional development. The Network also unites key state-of-the-art laboratories, which provides trainees with access to a unique and comprehensive suite of geochemistry expertise, analytical instrumentation and rapidly evolving technologies.

MAGNET trainees have an opportunity to intern with industry leaders. Could you discuss some examples?

Last year, one of the trainees spent 10 weeks in Elko, Nevada, with Barrick Gold – the largest gold mining company in the world. The internship began with mine-site safety training and job shadowing, followed by a soil and rock chip sampling campaign. The bulk of the internship involved a trace element study of highly altered basaltic rocks at Turquoise Ridge mine, which included sampling and logging 5,000 ft of core, geochemical analyses, data compilation and interpretation. Other successful internships have taken place with Lorax Environmental, Nu Instruments, Golder Associates and Arianne Phosphate.

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GEOCHEMISTRY ALLOWS TRACING and quantification of processes in Earth and environmental systems. The field has taken a major leap forward in recent years due to innovative analytical developments, such as multi-collector inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) and in situ laser ablation.

PULLING IN THE TALENT POOL

Aiming to address this stimulating evolution, the Multidisciplinary Applied Geochemistry Network (MAGNET) is an innovative educational initiative which forms part of the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) programme funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). CREATE aims to improve the mentoring and training environment for students by facilitating the development of professional skills, communication and collaboration, as well as providing experience relevant to both academic and non-academic settings. Staying true to this vision, MAGNET offers comprehensive mentoring and training in geochemistry, whilst simultaneously generating leading-edge geochemical research of scientific and societal importance.

Two and a half years into the six-year initiative, MAGNET has already achieved important milestones, as Program Director Professor Dominique Weis and Program Coordinator Diane Hanano explicate: “The first two trainees to complete the programme (September 2013) have gone on to pursue further research and teaching opportunities via faculty and postdoctoral positions. Furthermore, the response from our cohort has been overwhelmingly positive”.

FANTASTIC FEEDBACK

Currently, MAGNET has 17 trainees at five universities on the programme, with four more starting in January. “Seven are expected to graduate in 2015, and we look forward to accepting up to 10 new starters next year,” add Weis and Hanano. “The Network is growing, becoming stronger, more integrated and cohesive.”

It is little surprise the initiative is becoming more popular. Those on the programme feel they have made significant progress in their technical, professional and personal development, describing MAGNET as fulfilling and rewarding and commenting on how they gained understanding by means of discovery, observations, analysis and explanations. Another remarked: “This experience has changed my mind completely. It was really eye opening”. Such comments strongly validate the MAGNET approach in Weis and Hanano’s opinion: “This type of feedback demonstrates the transformative nature of the MAGNET training programme and its operating philosophy,” they add.

ENRICHED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

With both fundamental and applied research at its core – including analytical, environmental and exploration geochemistry – MAGNET offers comprehensive training under three themes: Fragile Ecosystems, Hidden Resources and Windows into the Earth. These topics, in line with the research interests of involved faculty members, are specifically designed to take advantage of recent analytical developments that can be applied to areas with significant real-world impact.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPLIED GEOCHEMISTRY NETWORK (MAGNET)

OBJECTIVES

• To produce highly skilled, well-rounded and conscientious graduates

• To provide an integrated research and training environment addressing global challenges

• To generate leading-edge geochemical research of benefi t to the scientifi c community, industry, policy makers and the general public

• To promote techniques and developments that meet or exceed the highest standards of quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) protocols and industry best practices

CO-INVESTIGATORS

Sarah-Jane Barnes, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi • Bridget Bergquist, Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University of Toronto • Ian Clark, University of Ottawa • Roger Francois, Uli Mayer; James Scoates; Dominique Weis (PI), University of British Columbia • John Stix, McGill University

INDUSTRY INTERNSHIP HOSTS

Arianne Phosphate • Barrick Gold • Golder Associates • Lorax Environmental Services • Nu Instruments

FUNDING

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) • University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada • Nu Instruments Ltd, UK • Lorax Environmental Services Ltd, Canada

CONTACT

Diane HananoMAGNET Programme Coordinator

Department of Earth, Ocean &Atmospheric SciencesUniversity of British Columbia2020-2207 Main MallVancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4Canada

T +1 778 628 1676E dhanano@eos.ubc.ca

www.magnet.eos.ubc.ca

DIANE HANANO is a geochemist by training with experience in science management, communications, education and outreach. As Programme Coordinator for MAGNET she coordinates training courses and workshops, trainee recruitment/selection, industry collaboration and internships, programme budgeting and reporting, as well as publication/dissemination of research results and programme activities.

In exploring one of these themes, MAGNET trainees expand their knowledge in three different ways: with hands-on learning offering technical and professional skills; industry internships presenting students with the chance to gain practical work experience; and multidisciplinary and collaborative research opportunities.

POSITIVE PLANS AHEAD

Despite being less than halfway through the six-year funding period, Weis and Hanano have ideas for MAGNET extending far into the future: “Over the next few years, we plan to build on our early successes and further improve and diversify the types of research and training opportunities offered to our trainees,” they explain. “And beyond the term of the grant funding, we will work closely with our industry and university partners to secure long-term collaborations and funding for the sustainability of this invaluable initiative.”

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INTELLIGENCE

HANDS-ON LEARNING

MAGNET hosts workshops for all trainees across Canada at least once a year. The intensive week-long courses provide opportunities for hands-on training and in-depth skill development in a specifi c technique or subject. Following the success of 2013’s fi rst workshop held in Vancouver on the principles and applications of geochemical techniques, this year hands-on geology and volcanology training in the natural laboratory of California were the focus.

INDUSTRY INTERNSHIPS

Recently, MAGNET trainees Anaïs Fourny and Genna Patton were invited to the Nu Instruments Ltd factory in Wrexham, UK, for two weeks. The aim of the internship was to assess the performance of the Nu Plasma II multicollector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer for iron isotopes depending on the type of sample introduction (wet versus dry plasma) and the concentration difference between samples and standards. They also had opportunities to adjust/change various instrument confi gurations as well as to interact with applications, scientists and engineers.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY/COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH

Elliott Skierszkan, MSc student, University of British Columbia (UBC)Supervisors: Uli Mayer and Roger Beckie, UBC

In developing an analytical method for the measurement of molybdenum (Mo) stable isotopes, Skierszkan has worked alongside Weis and Research Associate Marg Amini. “The project’s principal objective is to characterise Mo release and attenuation reactions occurring within waste rock piles at the Antamina Cu-Zn-Mo mine in Peru,” elucidates Skierszkan.

Not only could this research lead to improved remediation of Mo as an environmental contaminant, but it could also impact the management of mining waste rock.

MAGNET alumnus, Marc-Antoine Longpré, Postdoctoral Fellow, McGill University Supervisors: John Stix, McGill and Barbara Sherwood Lollar, University of Toronto

Longpré investigated magma plumbing dynamics and degassing during the2011-12 submarine eruption at El Hierro, Canary Islands. Results revealed that deep magma mixing events preceded the eruption and coincided in time and space with volcano-tectonic earthquakes. Geochemical analyses also showed that the mafi c alkaline magmas are exceptionally rich in volatile compounds, particularly carbon dioxide and sulphur. “This work is helping to improve understanding of the conditions that cause large explosive eruptions,” Weis and Hanano further illuminate.

MAGNET alumnus Emily Mullen, Postdoctoral Fellow, UBCSupervisors: James Scoates and Dominique Weis, UBC

“We also have a trainee that has carried out high-precision isotopic and trace element measurements in a detailed transect across the ore-bearing zone (the J-M Reef) of the Stillwater Complex – the Western Hemisphere’s largest known source of palladium,” enthuse Weis and Hanano. The origin of these zones remains controversial: “Their formation could be related to infl uxes of new magma into partly crystalline magma chambers, or to upward percolation of volatile-rich fl uids,” adds Mullen. The study is helping to determine if mineralisation is related to new magma infl ux, and will have implications for platinum group element deposits in other layered mafi c intrusions worldwide.